CHARLESTON, Ill. – Jacksonville State rallied from a deficit and fended off an Eastern Illinois threat in the ninth to register its third-straight Ohio Valley Conference sweep with a 4-3 win on Saturday.
The Gamecocks improved to 16-6 overall and extended their perfect start in OVC play to 9-0. Dating back to last season, Jax State has won 11 straight conference games and 18 of the last 21 league meetings. JSU has also won eight of the last 10 series dating back to the final month of the 2015 season and have won five of the six series this season. The Panthers fell to 3-10 overall and 0-6 in league play.
JSU rallied for the sixth time this season when the opponent scores first as the Panthers took their first lead of the weekend on a two-out, two-RBI single by Jason Scholl off of JSU starter
Colton Campbell. The two runs allowed came after two Panthers walled and was hit by a pitch.
EIU starter Brendon Allen kept JSU off balance for most of this seven innings of work, but JSU put together a three-run sixth inning to take the lead. A pair of walks from
Clayton Daniel and
Hayden White started the big inning. After
Tyler Gamble's ground out pushed them into scoring position, senior
Elliot McCummings put JSU on the scoreboard with an infield single. Senior
Paschal Petrongolo delivered a clutch single to right field to even the contest at 2-all. JSU's third and go-ahead run came via an Allen wild pitch.
Junior
Joe McGuire, staked to a lead, came in relief of Campbell and went 2.1 innings and allowed just one EIU hit and a strike out. Freshman
Garrett Farmer tossed 1.1 innings pitched and allowed a run. McGuire earned the win and moved to 2-0 on the season. Allen suffered the loss and dropped to 0-4.
The Gamecocks manufactured a much-needed insurance run in the seventh with an RBI double by White.
The Panthers trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the eighth with a lead off solo home run by Demetre Taylor.
Redshirt-freshman closer
Justin Hoyt came on in the ninth and found himself in trouble by walking the leadoff man and hitting the next batter. After an EIU sacrifice bunt, Hoyt recorded the final out with a full count strike out looking. It was Hoyt's sixth save of the year and second of the weekend.
The Gamecocks return home this week for a pair of midweek contests against two in-state foes. JSU will host Samford on Tuesday at 6 p.m., followed by a Wednesday match up with Alabama State. Admission to all JSU baseball games is free for JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger.
